ORIGIN

Restored 1952 Willys CJ3A 4×4

This 1952 Willys CJ3A features a thorough restoration from 2004, and we like the side-mounted spare, the canvas top, and the restored Ramsey PTO winch. Buying one of these already restored is way cheaper than building one. This one looks turn-key. Find it here on Craigslist in Novato, California for $14k.

This looks like a pretty nice resto and with the new body and wiring harness should hopefully deliver plenty of trouble free motoring.

I can’t tell from the photos, because I don’t know what exactly I’m supposed to be looking for, but would this model, I’m assuming this was built for the home market, also have been equipped with a heater for the cabin ?

My Buddy has a ’47 CJ2A that I absolutely love… We call him Eugene (some will get the reference and some will not)… About 52 MPH flat out on pavement, but get him out in the Sierra Nevada back country and that vehicle will go places where Mountain Goats fear to tread. Simple, reliable, bullet-proof and absolutely grin inducing. This one seems very well done. GLWS.

My neighbor had one of these in the mid 70’s with a 327 Chevy under the hood. I was in my early teens and to this day, I have never been more petrified in a vehicle. And in my part of Pittsburgh, the original Bantam motor works was nearby. Definitely a Jeep/Willys environment.

There is beauty in the simplicity of early four wheel drive vehicles like this one. Nice jeep.

Made the cover of Autoweek driven by a fetching Brigette Bardot at the wheel. Then again in Hemmings sports and classics. These have been undervalued in part because there are so many of them. But with passage of time, the number of nice ones is really declining.

In the age of formed plastic engine covers, I can see why these are gaining appeal. You get the sense that these are indistructible and even if by the off chance something did break, you could pull over and fix it with a screwdriver and a crescent wrench and be back on your merry way in 15 minutes flat.

Could use one of these today in Maryland! Hard to believe how quickly the flat-fendered Jeep market has moved up. A few years ago, this would have been 6 to 7k tops. The early Willys CJ5s are basically identical and still reasonably priced if you’re going to go the vintage Jeep route.